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Millie Fullmer is the new curator and director of the History of Art Department’s Visual Resources Center, having served as assistant curator since August 2015 and more recently, interim director.

“This is an auspicious moment for Millie to take over the directorship of the VRC,” said Kevin Murphy, chair and professor of history of art. “The College of Arts and Science is in the process of establishing a new Digital Humanities Center with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. We are looking for Millie to play a major role in integrating the efforts of the VRC into the College’s larger DH initiative, especially with the development of new technologies for teaching as an important part of the recent Academic Strategic Plan.”

Upon completing graduate degrees in art history and religious studies (New Zealand) and library and information science (New York’s Pratt Institute), Fullmer worked as an arts librarian at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Columbia University’s Avery Library prior to coming to Vanderbilt. “Art librarianship and visual resources are no longer considered mutually exclusive,” said Fullmer, who envisions the VRC as a place where faculty and students can come together to learn about the latest digital tools and invent novel ways to support innovative research and teaching.

“In the age of the Internet, many predicted the demise of the librarian or in our case, visual resources curators,” said Fullmer. “The reality, however, is quite different. The information age has spawned countless data to sift through, creating a greater demand for information specialists that have the wherewithal to find the needle in the proverbial haystack. Visual literacy instruction in art history classrooms is a responsibility the VRC already performs, but we envision developing beyond the token 15-minute classroom instruction.”

With her boundless creative energy and imaginative prowess, Fullmer has distinguished herself as an invaluable asset to the department. An avid reader and lover of the arts, she is an active participant in the University and wider arts community of Nashville, regularly attending museums and galleries, art exhibitions, lectures, art crawls, concerts, and workshops and conferences. This summer she completed a part-time, six-month fellowship—the Lazenby Library Fellowship—as part of a historic initiative to reinstate Cheekwood as an American country era estate.

Also part of the package are our new director’s awesome baking skills. Her most recent creation: an apricot, walnut and lavender cake!